Rick Hill is the Valero Alamo Bowl’s VP of Marketing and Communications. Prior to the bowl, Rick spent 6 years working for the Spurs, one season with Missions Baseball and two fruitless months trying to sell season tickets for the S.A. Riders.

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Hitting The Road

The Valero Alamo Bowl does not typically send team selection scouts to games until late October when we have a better idea of who could play in our game. However, traveling to the Oregon State vs. TCU game at Cowboys Stadium last Saturday made sense as we wanted to start building relationships with Pac-10 teams and conference officials.

It was also a perfect opportunity to see how the new stadium operates for a college game after I raved about it in a blog after a July tour. Since the Alamodome cost a billion less than JerryWorld to build ($183 million to $1.2 billion), I wanted to see how different the experience was from a fan’s perspective and if there are any aspects we can duplicate in San Antonio. Here are my takeaways on the visit:

Texas-Sized Hospitality: Luckily the temperature was below 85 degrees which is when the 120 x 180 foot end zone doors open turning the space into eight acres of hospitality like our Fan Zone pregame activities with bands and interactive exhibits. However instead of being a block north of the facility in Sunset Station, you are actually part of the stadium with tables to socialize and video walls to keep you entertained. The bowl will continue to work with the Alamodome to utilize every nook and cranny of the building to create opportunities for social interaction and points of sale to reduce the wait lines.

These Boots Are Made For Walking: When the groundhog emerges from his burrow in early February and doesn’t see his shadow it means winter is over. When you see hundreds of co-eds emerging from their cars in early September in team-colored sundresses and boots, it means football season is here. Unfortunately, these ladies and the other non-boot wearing fans seem to have an aversion to walking up escalators or stairs. Like the Alamodome, the wait for elevators at Cowboys Stadium makes walking the smartest and most direct way to get to your seats.

Go Beavs: With our improved team selection rights, we should routinely feature Top 25 teams in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Thus a team that loses a couple of non-conference games will have a tough time getting to San Antonio. For that reason, it was easy to pull for Oregon State. Their fans traveled well to Arlington and they deserve credit for their brutal non-conference schedule (TCU, Louisville and Boise State).

Tall Cotton: At a media roundtable before the game, Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott (fresh off his Jerry Jones-led tour of the facility) was asked if Cowboys Stadium was qualified to host a National Championship. His response: “This blows away any stadium I’ve ever seen. I’d say it’s overqualified.” The stadium is unbelievable and deserves its spot on every major events short list. By the way, does anyone else think the Commissioner and Oregon State Head Coach Mike Riley look like brothers?

Do You Know What Time It Is?: In the last year, the Alamodome has added video ribbon boards to one level of the inner bowl and LED monitors at all of the concessions stands. In addition to the 60 yard long and 7 1/2 story high center hung video wall, JerryWorld has three rings of ribbon boards along with 3,000 TV monitors placed throughout the stadium. However, JerryWorld only lists the down and distance and time remaining on one small display in each endzone whereas the Alamodome has that information in four places viewable from your seats and at every concession stand. When I asked about the oversight, I was told “The time didn’t pay to be here” referring to all the sponsor messages taking precedence.

Pick The Right Door: The Alamodome’s concourses are tight so we now label each ticket with the gate you should enter. This puts you into the building close to your seats and cuts down on congestion. I’d advise anyone going to Cowboys Stadium to also enter at the gate closest to your seats. There are clubs on the main concourses on each sideline restricted to suite and club buyers. So if you enter on the East side and you are sitting on the West side you can’t walk all the way around without going up a level and then back down. One lady fueled with one too many $8.50 beers half-screamed, half-slurred to the usher “I’ve never seen anything like this. Why can’t I just walk to my seat?”

Class Act: Oregon State’s opportunity to tie the game ended on a bad snap late in the fourth quarter allowing a deserving and tremendously well-coached TCU team to seal the victory. Coach Riley was disappointed but handled his post-game duties with grace as did Oregon State Athletic Director Bob De Carolis. A good case in point, Riley agreed to a late night video interview with ESPN.com Pac-10 blogger Ted Miller with De Carolis volunteering to hold the camera. After a tough loss, I’m not sure this a scene you’d see duplicated with many coaches and athletic directors in the country.

Before leaving the stadium, I walked across the field to watch the TCU band and cheerleaders perform one last time and soak up the atmosphere as the TCU fans celebrated their victory, Even though the Pac-10 came up short, it was a great kickoff to the season at what a press box handout correctly called “the world’s finest football venue.” I walked with a smile to my car excited to think about all the memorable moments the next 12 weeks would bring.